Google, Tilt Brush

When m ss ng p eces approached us to craft a launch video for Google’s new VR app Tilt Brush, director Ray Tintori conceived of an idea just as radical as the app itself.

As a filmmaker who works in both virtual reality and 2D – with an emphasis on inventive practical effects work – Tintori drew on everything he knew about both worlds to translate the VR environment into a captivating two-dimensional video. He worked closely with the Tilt Brush team and the world-class VFX talent at MPC (who co-produced the piece) to create a film that showcases what it’s like to paint with Tilt Brush.

The video features three unique, real world artists unleashing their creativity with three-dimensional brush strokes, in completely distinct styles and approaches: Rachel Rossin, an internationally acclaimed fine artist who works in oil painting and VR installations; Telfar Clemens, a groundbreaking young star in the fashion world; and Grace Lin, a freshman Studio Art major at New York’s famed LaGuardia High School.

MPC built a custom system enabling Tilt Brush to be used to render actual artworks seen by the artists in their virtual reality headsets, and capture the process in real time on video. The piece is built from actual Tilt Brush renders, mixed with 2D lighting and compositing effects, and all of the art elements seen in the film were created using Tilt Brush. The end result is a one of a kind mixed-reality film that shows the inner world of artists coming to life.

Grammy-winning composer Dan Romer (“Beasts of the Southern Wild” and Cary Fukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation”) created the original score.